Iceland’s minister for children and education resigned after confessing to having a kid with a teenager over three and a half decades ago, according to Icelandic media.
Iceland’s state broadcaster RUV reported on Thursday that Ásthildur Lóa Thórsdóttir began a connection with a 15-year-old boy when she was 22 and has a son with him.
According to the Icelandic broadcaster, Thórsdóttir met the boy while working as a counselor for a religious organization before giving birth to his kid at the ages of 23 and 16.
According to the country’s penal legislation, the minimum age for consent is 15. Adults who are entrusted to teach a kid under the age of 18 are not permitted to have sexual contact with them, and abusers face up to 12 years in jail.
The father told RUV that he had never considered himself as a victim in this circumstance, but that he was going through a tough time at home and had gone to the religious group for help.
According to Iceland’s official broadcaster, the connection was kept private, but the father attended his child’s birth and was originally granted contact, but practically all access was cut off before his kid turned one.
However, he was obligated to pay child support for an 18-year period.
The young father requested help from the Ministry of Justice and the church’s family service to see his kid, but Thórsdóttir denied him visiting rights, according to Iceland’s state TV.
Thórsdóttir resigned from her ministerial position shortly after RUV published its investigation on Thursday, according to the national broadcaster. She will continue to represent the People’s Party in parliament.
Iceland’s prime minister stated that Thórsdóttir had spoken with the country’s three party leaders, but it was her choice to quit, according to RUV.
During a press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir stated, “We discussed the options together and heard her account of the matter in detail for the first time at that meeting.” The leader reaffirmed that Thórsdóttir quickly accepted responsibility by quitting.
“Of course, this is an unfortunate matter, but it has nothing to do with our work,” Frostadóttir said, adding that the prime minister’s office has yet to complete its investigation since it was brought to their knowledge a week ago.
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